Dane, Paris, Mouratoglou: Everything you always wanted to know about Holger Rune (but never had time to find out) – updated after reunion with coach Christensen
Holger Rune has won four ATP titles and reached the quarter-finals at the Grand Slams on three occasions. Here are the answers to some questions you may have about the Dane
AI / Reuters / Panoramic
Who is Holger Rune?
Holger Rune is a Danish professional tennis player, part of the young generation on the ATP Tour aiming to become No 1 in the world, along with other players of his generation such as Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.
Who is Holger Rune’s coach?
Holger Rune reunited with fellow Dane Lars Christensen, who coached him through his childhood years, in October 2024. The duo parted ways in November 2023. Kenneth Carlsen continues to be part of Holger Rune’s staff.
During the Asian swing in 2024, Rune brought in 44-year-old Benjamin Ebrahimzadeh Rezayeh, former coach of Angelique Kerber, as part of his team. This came following a split with Patrick Mouratoglou in July 2024.
German legend Boris Becker has also served as his coach briefly between October 2023 and February 2024.
Have Rune and Mouratoglou parted ways?
Yes, the pair mutually decided to part ways in July 2024, ending their second stint together after five months.
In a post on Instagram, Rune said, “I have had some good talks with Patrick, and we mutually decided to part ways. He will always be a great friend, but for now, the best set-up for me is to continue with Kenneth who will be present at all practices and tournaments. Nothing changes in my relation to Mouratoglou academy who always have been very helpful to me. I am looking forward to being healthy and back on track again.”
Rune has been training at the Patrick Mouratoglou Academy in Biot since 2016. Between October 2022 and March 2023, Rune was also accompanied on tour by Mouratoglou, the long-time coach of Serena Williams. Mouratoglou initially joined the team until the end of 2022 but stayed on for an additional three months, before confirming on April 3 that he would be stepping back, as planned. He then rejoined the team for the clay season, but stepped back again in September 2023 before joining forced together in February 2024.
Did Rune work with Boris Becker and Severin Luthi?
Rune and Boris Becker teamed up in late 2023, and were expected to be working together full-time in 2024. The German announced it on a Eurosport podcast, describing Rune as “a rough diamond”. However, in February 2024, Becker wrote on social media that their arrangement was over with immediate effect.
Rune also announced the appointment of Roger Federer‘s former coach, Severin Luthi, in December 2023. However, the collaboration lasted less than two months and they parted ways in late January 2024 after a second-round exit at the 2024 Australian Open.
Rune has earlier been coached by Lars Christensen, according to the official ATP website. Throughout his childhood, he was coached by Christensen, who, along with his mother, Aneke Rune, is considered his greatest source of inspiration. However, during the 2023 Monte-Carlo Masters 1000, Christensen was not seen in Rune’s box all through the tournament where the Dane reached the final and lost to Andrey Rublev in three sets.
Aneke Rune clarified her son’s coaching status in May 2023, saying that Christensen had coached him since he was little, and that they had been associated with the Mouratoglou Academy since Holger was 13. “It’s not about a change of coach but about using the resources you have for various reasons,” she told TV2.
What did Rune accomplish at the 2022 Paris Masters?
Rune became the first man to beat five top 10 players in the same tournament. After saving three match points in beating Stan Wawrinka in the first round, he beat top 10 players Hubert Hurkacz, Andrey Rublev, world No 1 Carlos Alcaraz, Felix Auger-Aliassime and then in the final, Novak Djokovic, to win his first ATP Masters 1000 title.
How did Rune fare at the 2024 US Open?
At the 2024 US Open, Rune suffered a second consecutive first-round defeat at the tournament, going down in straight sets to Brandon Nakashima.
How did Holger Rune’s 2024 clay court season go?
The Dane reached the quarter-final of Monte-Carlo, where he lost to Jannik Sinner, and the semi-final of the Bavarian International in Munich, where he lost to Jan-Lennard Struff. He was then knocked out in the round of 32 at the Madrid Open at the hands of Tallon Griekspoor, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, and the same stage of Rome, to Sebastian Baez, 2-6, 6-2, 6-3. At the 2024 French Open, he reached the fourth round before going down to Alexander Zverev in five sets.
What is Holger Rune’s style of play?
Rune possesses an all-court game. He can hit hard from the baseline but also change the pace and follow his big serve and play at the net. Besides his game, he is known for his fist pumps on the court.
Speaking about Rune in Monte-Carlo, Andrey Rublev described Rune’s style of play. “Holger is the guy who runs a lot, and he runs really well. He read the game really well. He’s very talented. He have a good touch. He doesn’t give you any rhythm, because as soon as he have chance he try to do dropshots, he try to hit full power, go to the net, return and go to the net, then serve to the net. So with him, you need really to pass these three, four shots to be able to give your rhythm and to dictate your style of the game.”
Has Holger Rune ever played in UTS?
Holger “The Viking” Rune reached the final of the 2023 UTS Grand Final in London, where he lost to Jack “The Power” Draper.
Rune also played in UTS Oslo in February 2024.
The 20-year-old Dane made his debut in 2020, when he was just 17 years old, as a replacement for Matteo Berrettini.
Where and when did Holger Rune win his first ATP Tour title?
Holger Rune won the first title of his career on the ATP Tour in Munich in 2022. In the final, the Dane took advantage of the retirement of Botic van de Zandschulp, who had a chest injury (4-3). In the second round, he easily beat the top seed and world No 3 Alexander Zverev (6-3, 6-2). Jiri Lehecka, Emil Ruusuvuori and Oscar Otte were his other opponents during the week.
Coming out of his semi-final, the 19-year-old had already shown his big ambitions: “I won’t be satisfied until I’m world No 1.”
How many ATP titles has Holger Rune won?
Four. He followed up his win in Munich by taking the title in Stockholm in October, 2022, beating Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final. He then won his first ATP Masters 1000 title by beating Novak Djokovic in the Paris final in November. He won his fourth and most recent title in Munich in April, 2023, beating Botic van de Zandschulp in the final.
How old is Holger Rune?
Holger Rune was born on April 29, 2003 in Copenhagen, which makes him 21 years old as of September 2024.
Who are Holger Rune’s parents?
His parents are Aneke Rune, his mother who accompanies him at tournaments, and father Anders Nodskov. Rune also has a sister, Alma. He started playing tennis at the age of six because his sister was playing and started taking the sport seriously.
Who are Holger Rune’s idols?
Since becoming interested in and playing tennis, the Dane has been a huge fan of Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, especially the latter.
What is Holger Rune’s best ranking?
Rune achieved a career-high ranking of No 4 in August 2023. You can find his current ranking and rankings history on his ATP Tour profile page.
How much prize money has Rune won in his career?
As of October 15, 2024, Rune has earned over $10.2 million in career prize money. You can find his latest prize money stats on his official ATP Tour profile page.
What is Holger Rune’s best Grand Slam result?
Rune has reached the quarter-finals at the Grand Slams on three occasions. His first big breakthrough in Paris in 2022, where he beat Denis Shapovalov in the first round, then took out world No 4 Stefanos Tsitsipas in the fourth round before going down to Casper Ruud in the quarter-finals.
He replicated his success at Roland-Garros in 2023, again reaching the quarter-finals and again losing in four sets to Ruud.
Rune reached his third Grand Slam quarter-final, and first on grass courts, by reaching the last eight of Wimbledon 2023. He played his junior doubles partner and next gen rival Carlos Alcaraz, losing in three sets to the Spaniard, who went on to win the Wimbledon title.
Rune’s best result at the Australian Open has been a fourth-round finish in 2023. He has reached the third round of the US Open once (in 2022).
What happened against Casper Ruud at Roland-Garros in 2022?
A rare all-Scandinavian quarter-final saw an eighth-seeded Casper Ruud beat Rune 6-1, 4-6, 7-6 (2), 6-3. But the encounter could be remembered more for what happened after Ruud officially progressed. Fans noted the frosty handshake, with Rune accusing Ruud of disrespect, something the Norwegian’s camp denied.
It seems like the unpleasantness continued in the locker room after the match but both sides had a different version of what happened.
Since then, the relationship between the two have thawed and are slated to take part in an exhibition series in late 2024.
What does Rune have to say about his ‘bad boy’ tag?
Rune, whose passion on court during matches, has said he does not see himself as a ‘bad boy’.
Speaking during the 2023 Rome Masters, the Dane said, “I don’t see myself as the bad boy at all. I play with a lot of passion and energy when I’m on the court. I think many players do that. I don’t know why that should be a bad boy thing, to play with energy on the court. A bad boy thing is to break racquets and stuff like this. If I remember well, I don’t break a racquet when I play. I don’t see myself like that. There’s obviously a few things here and there. The umpire today. But again, I see the ball out, he saw it in. I saw on the Hawk-Eye after that the ball was out, so I don’t know.”
Is Holger Rune active on social networks?
Holger Rune has an Instagram account with over 915,000 followers (as of October 15, 2024) and an X Twitter account followed by over 87,600. The Dane does not have a Facebook account.
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